I know, I know! You guys are probably sick of "what laptop?" questions, but I guess I'll chance my arm because my head may just explode after all the dead-end research I've been doing.
Basically, I want something fairly portable (i.e. a PM rather than a P4), yet with enough kick to act as a fairly decent design and multimedia development machine. I'd be using the Adobe Creative Suite, After Effects, Flash, Director, etc. and probably a bit of 3dsmax if the machine could handle it. I'm not a mad gamer, but I'd like to be able to play HL2/WoW, etc. occasionally. I don't want a desktop replacement, per se, but something that I can use when I'm out of the office or mooching in front of the TV. I'm a teeny girl, so I don't think I could lug about anything too heavy.
I've been searching this forum for ages, but I keep changing my mind. One minute I was set on an IBM T42 (but to get the specs I want I'd have to sell some organs), then I decided on an Acer TravelMate 8006LMi, and now I'm hovering around the Dell i8600/M60/M70. It's made doubly hard because I'm in Ireland and we just don't have the range that the US has. Not to mention the fact that everything is twice as expensive. I'd rather not import a laptop, though, as I want to be able to get decent support if anything goes wrong.
On my list at the moment are:
Acer TM 8006LMi - Looks lovely, but I'm worried about Acer support and the conflicting reports about the screen quality.
Dell i8600 - The safe option. I can get a great deal from the outlet and, of course, I'd fork out for a 3 year warranty. Everyone tells me not to go Dell, though.
Dell Precision M20/M60/M70 - Funnily enough, I can spec out an M60 *cheaper* than an i8600 on the dell.ie site. I don't know if I'd be doing enough 3D work to warrant the gfx card, and I doubt it's that much of a boost over the Radeon for 2D and video work. The M70 looks hot, but there have been no reviews yet. The M20 looks great (and light!), but the gfx card seems a bit weak and, again, no reviews yet.
Asus M6Ne - Again, looks great, but I'm a bit iffy about the mere 64MB Radeon although people seem to think that it hardly underperforms against the 128mb. Is this true?
Does anyone have some suggestions? Or other brands/models that are available in Ireland/the UK/Europe? My budget is anything from €1000-2000(ish), and I can get VAT off as I'm self-employed.
Thanks so much in advance for any helpful advice, folks!
Basically, I want something fairly portable (i.e. a PM rather than a P4), yet with enough kick to act as a fairly decent design and multimedia development machine. I'd be using the Adobe Creative Suite, After Effects, Flash, Director, etc. and probably a bit of 3dsmax if the machine could handle it. I'm not a mad gamer, but I'd like to be able to play HL2/WoW, etc. occasionally. I don't want a desktop replacement, per se, but something that I can use when I'm out of the office or mooching in front of the TV. I'm a teeny girl, so I don't think I could lug about anything too heavy.
I've been searching this forum for ages, but I keep changing my mind. One minute I was set on an IBM T42 (but to get the specs I want I'd have to sell some organs), then I decided on an Acer TravelMate 8006LMi, and now I'm hovering around the Dell i8600/M60/M70. It's made doubly hard because I'm in Ireland and we just don't have the range that the US has. Not to mention the fact that everything is twice as expensive. I'd rather not import a laptop, though, as I want to be able to get decent support if anything goes wrong.
On my list at the moment are:
Acer TM 8006LMi - Looks lovely, but I'm worried about Acer support and the conflicting reports about the screen quality.
Dell i8600 - The safe option. I can get a great deal from the outlet and, of course, I'd fork out for a 3 year warranty. Everyone tells me not to go Dell, though.
Dell Precision M20/M60/M70 - Funnily enough, I can spec out an M60 *cheaper* than an i8600 on the dell.ie site. I don't know if I'd be doing enough 3D work to warrant the gfx card, and I doubt it's that much of a boost over the Radeon for 2D and video work. The M70 looks hot, but there have been no reviews yet. The M20 looks great (and light!), but the gfx card seems a bit weak and, again, no reviews yet.
Asus M6Ne - Again, looks great, but I'm a bit iffy about the mere 64MB Radeon although people seem to think that it hardly underperforms against the 128mb. Is this true?
Does anyone have some suggestions? Or other brands/models that are available in Ireland/the UK/Europe? My budget is anything from €1000-2000(ish), and I can get VAT off as I'm self-employed.
Thanks so much in advance for any helpful advice, folks!
